The world's biggest video games events of 2013

With Microsoft and Sony expected to announce successors to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this year, and plenty of other tech companies looking to leverage the jump from one console generation to the next, 2013 promises to be an exciting year as far as video gaming is concerned.

27th Game Developers ConferenceMarch 25-29San Francisco, California, United States

Consisting of talks for the industry, by the industry, but with plenty of tidbits for interested onlookers, GDC's main annual conference doubles as venue for the Independent Game Festival and its award show, as well as the respected Game Developers Choice Awards. Look out for chat from Valve, Microsoft and Epic as studios gear up their efforts working with new hardware and more impressive game engines.

Since 1995, the Electronic Entertainment Expo has grown into the largest US convention for the computer and video game industry. Companies from Nintendo to Sony come to E3 to unveil their new games and showcase the latest technology and software. Is this where Sony and Microsoft will reveal their new PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 in 2013?

5th GamescomAugust 21-25Cologne, Germany

The world's largest trade and public video games expo took no time at all to establish itself, branching off from the old Leipzig Games Convention in 2009 and offering hands-on time with new games and games devices. It's become a venue popular with manufacturers and studios preparing for the end-of-year holiday season as well as with the public looking to get hands-on time with the latest games. In 2012, Gamescom counted 275,000 visitors.

4th PAX East and 10th PAX PrimeMarch 22-24 and August (TBC)Boston, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington, United States

Still retaining a grassroots vibe and covering video games and board games, concerts and competitions, the US PAX events each clear around 70,000 visitors per show. A chance for developers and punters to mix freely, with plenty of talks, panels, podcasts, parties and gaming sessions to attend. 2013 marks the first year that PAX extends beyond North America, with the first PAX Australia planned for July 19-21 in Melbourne.

23rd Tokyo Game ShowSeptember (TBC)Tokyo, Japan

Along with GDC, E3 and Gamescom, one of the year's most important and influential expos. Even if in these last years the main companies chose to announce their new products in Los Angeles and Cologne, TGS remains home turf for Sony, while Nintendo will likely make any announcements at a separate, concurrent press event.